Winter Parking Ban Now in Effect

November 30, 2006

Dear Neighbors,

Citywide winter parking restrictions are in effect. Locally, Clark Street parking is now prohibited from 3am to 7am, regardless of snow.

When snow is 2 inches deep there is no parking allowed on Clark, Ridge, Howard, Sheridan, Rogers, Ashland, Western and Touhy (West of Ridge). Other streets may have additional parking restrictions so please check for signs.

Be a good neighbor – alert your friends and neighbors! Forward this email or give them a call. We hope nobody will be towed or ticketed this winter, but if it does happen to you, you may locate your vehicle by calling 311 or during business hours by calling my Ward Service Office at 773.338.5796.

Chicago’s annual snow-related parking restrictions featuring an overnight parking ban and 2-inch snow restrictions takes effect on Friday, December 1, 2006 (at 3AM) on a number of the city’s most critical arterial streets.

The Winter overnight parking ban takes effect on about a dozen main priority routes – approximately 107 miles of city streets – from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. between December 1st and April 1st – regardless of snow. Enforcement of the ban begins Friday morning, December 1st at 3 a.m.

Motorists ignoring this posted seasonal tow zone face a minimum $150 towing fee in addition to a $50 ticket and an initial $10 daily storage fee. For residents who regularly park on one of these designated streets during non-winter months, it’s a good idea to start looking for an alternate place to park for until the restrictions are lifted on April 1st.

A separate ban on parking exists on another 500 miles of main streets when there is at least two inches of snow on the street, no matter the time of day or the calendar date. Cars violating this ban can be ticketed and relocated nearby.

Both of these seasonal restrictions are marked by signs that are permanently posted along the designated routes. They constitute Chicago’s “Snow Route System,” which was created as a response to massive snow storms, including the Great Blizzard of ’67, which literally halted traffic in its tracks citywide.

“The restrictions are in place because these are the streets that are most critical to the city’s ability to function,” said Streets & Sanitation Commissioner Mike Picardi “They must be kept clear so that emergency vehicles and buses can get through at all times.”

Experience shows that people tend to leave their cars in place once a storm is underway. These illegally parked cars then prevent the routes from being fully plowed and salted. And as the snow continues to fall it is pushed up against these vehicles by passing plows further restricting the traffic capacity of the street.

“The cooperation of our residents is vital to keeping these critical roadways open to their full capacity ,” noted Picardi. “By working together we will all be able to get through this winter safely.”